THE BOOK OF
Christ, for the desire that she had to see Him, that she
might not bear it, but fell down and wept and cried so sore
that it was a marvel to hear it.
Then the priests had the more trust that it was right
well with her, when they heard her crying in a private
place as well as in an open one, and in the fields as in the
town.
Also there were nuns who desired to have knowledge
of the creature, so that they should be the more stirred to
devotion. She was in their church at midnight to hear
their Matins, and Our Lord sent her such high devotion
and such high meditation, and such ghostly comforts,
that she was all inflamed with the fire of love, which in-
creased so fast that it burst out with a loud voice and
great crying, so that Our Lord's Name was the more
magnified amongst His servants, who were good, meek
and simple souls, and would believe the goodness of Our
Lord Jesus Christ, Who giveth His grace to whom He
will, and specially to them that doubt not or mistrust not
in their asking.
Her crying greatly profited to the increase of merit and
of virtue. To them that little trusted and little believed,
peradventure there was little increase of virtue or of
merit; but whether the people believed in her crying or
not, her grace was never the less, but ever increased.
With equal kindness, Our Lord visited her by night as
by day, when He would, and how He would, and where
He would, for she lacked no grace except when she
doubted or mistrusted the goodness of God, supposing
or dreading that it was the wile of her ghostly enemy,
informing or teaching her otherwise than was to her
ghostly health.
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